AVATAR Body, Hair and cloths EDITS

[Pua05]

I'm trying to edit my avatar > however, I'm having trouble w/the following:

1. Hair/body EDITS > unable to view changes on avatar s I make adjustments. 

2. when I click on cloths edit icon, I am unable to view or select items

[Rolig Loon]

Are you using a standard "classic" avatar, or are you using one of the new mesh avatars?  You can't edit the mesh avatars.  You can only add attachments that are rigged for them specifically.  If you want to use the normal tools in Appearance, you'll have to use a standard avatar.  You'll find many outfits in the Library >>> Clothing folder in your inventory.

[Lindal Kidd]

Second Life clothing is a minefield for the newcomer.

Besides Rolig's suggestion to start with one of the older, "standard" type avatars in your inventory (see the folder Library/Clothing/Older Outfits, or simply choose any avatar outfit folder that does not have "mesh" in the name)...

Most hair these days is an attachment, a sort of wig, and it cannot be edited with the Appearance sliders.  You can detach the hair and wear any other hair object.  Hair comes in two parts...the first part is a "baldy", or "bald cap" or "eyebrow shaper", with the inventory symbol of a head of hair.  This just makes you bald, so the older, ugly "system" hair does not stick out through your pretty prim hair attachment.  The second part is the actual hair, but it will have the inventory symbol of an object...a small cube.

Many clothing items are "no modify".  If you try to edit them in Appearance, they are grayed out.  Don't despair, just wear a different clothing item instead.

Be careful of "alpha masks".  These are special clothing layers that make part or all of your body invisible when wearing mesh clothes or avatars, to keep your "standard" body from poking through them.  Alpha masks have the inventory symbol of a shirt with a grid pattern on it.  Be sure to wear them with the clothing that requires them, and take them off when you remove those clothes.  You can wear up to five alpha masks at a time (or ANY clothing layer) by using the inventory command ADD instead of WEAR.  (WEAR removes any similar item and replaces it, or them, with the new item.)

There are four appearance items you can't take off.  They are necessary to define a minimum avatar.  These four are shape, skin, eyes, and system hair.  You can't take them off, but you CAN wear another item of the same type to replace them.

[jeffrey11488313394]

Hi

some things in game are not made to be edited

So they are  no modify

sorry

enjoy Sl

byee

[Nalates Urriah]

The long explanation is:

There are new the starter avatars, which we call mesh bodies or just mesh avatars. There are also the older avatars which we call classic avatars. The classic avatar skeleton and skin are the base avatar. To use a new mesh body the skin of the classic avatar is hidden using alpha layers.

Clothes and skin made for the classic avatar apply a texture/image to the mesh surface that makes up the skin of the classic avatar, which we usually just refer to as the system (original) skin. We call these clothes and skins system clothes or skin.

If you use GIMP or Photoshop you are familiar with layers. In the classic avatar the skin is the bottom layer. On top of that we composite the tattoo, undershirt, shirt, and jacket layers. On top of that the mesh avatar places a new mesh surface. The two surfaces are so close to the same position we normally hide the surface used for the classic avatar, so it doesn't show when it pokes through mesh avatar surface - which it does as the avatar moves. Its a basic limitation of modeling and animating all 3D avatars in any world that surfaces conflict.

The viewer always applies system skin, tats, shirt, etc. to the system or classic avatar. This is why when you wear a mesh avatar and make changes you see no result/change.

Special skins and clothes are needed for use with the newer mesh avatars. With mesh clothes another mesh surface is placed over both the classic and mesh skins. A top will fit over both. A mesh jacket will be another surface that fits over all the inner surfaces; shirt, skin.

We use 'Appliers' to place textures/images on the new surface that makes up the mesh avatar skin. We must composite the skin and clothes ourselves, if we want to place skin and clothes on the new avatar skin. But, it is intended that we use mesh clothes with a mesh avatar. So, in general we only place skin on the mesh skin.

Unfortunately, skins made for the classic avatar won't work with the mesh avatar. The skin makers are modifying classic skins they made to work with Appliers they build, which put the skins on the new mesh avatars.

Mesh clothes are used with the new mesh avatars and classic avatars.

If all this seem unnecessarily complicated... you're sort of right and the thinking is understandable. But, the necessity for it comes from the Lab's habit of making all new things as backward compatible as possible. Classic avatars came first. We are now in a transition to newer things. We expect these complications to be removed in the coming SL2.

[Lindal Kidd]

Great explanation!